November 2015 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Planning for SHOT meeting in Singapore, June 26-29, 2016
by Andrew Russell 10 Nov '16

10 Nov '16

Colleagues - It was nice to see so many of you for the SHOT and SIGCIS meetings this past weekend in Albuquerque. From my point of view things went extraordinarily well, and I don’t have words to express how happy I am about the quality of scholarship and spirit of camaraderie that I felt throughout the weekend. I think we all owe Nathan Ensmenger a special thanks for such a fantastic keynote presentation on computing’s environmental history - throughout the day people were calling it powerful, moving, transformative, etc. Also on Sunday, we celebrated the achievements of our colleagues, including: - the ten young scholars who were awarded travel grants from MIT Press, the Computer History Museum, and the Mahoney Fund. - Rebecca Slayton, winner of the 2015 CHM Prize for her book Arguments that Count - David Nofre, Mark Priestley, and Gerard Alberts, winners of the inaugural Mahoney Prize for their article “When Technology Became Language” - Sarah McLennan, winner of SHOT’s 2015 Robinson Prize for her paper “Computing and the Color Line,” presented in a session organized jointly by SIGCIS and EDITH, thanks to Marie Hicks and Ruth Cowan. The main purpose of this message is to reinforce and amplify my call on Sunday morning for proposals for SHOT in Singapore in June 2016. SHOT will issuing its call for papers very soon, with a deadline in late 2015. In anticipation, please be thinking about participating in one of the following ways: 1. Put forth an Open Panel Proposal for the main SHOT meeting. SHOT will place a special emphasis on “open panel” topics that SHOT will circulate widely as it publicizes the CFP. 2. Organize a Complete Panel Submission of 3 or 4 papers for the main SHOT meeting. Please feel free to use the list or to contact me (or anyone on the SIGCIS Exec) if you want to float ideas and/or find extra panelists. 3. Submit a paper or panel for the SIGCIS 2016 Workshop that will be held, as usual, at the end of the SHOT conference in Singapore on Sunday, June 26. We expect to issue the CFP for the SIGCIS Workshop well after the SHOT CFP is issued; watch this space in mid-November or early December for details. As you contemplate your participation in the Singapore meeting, please keep 2 additional things in mind: 1. This is a terrific opportunity to forge new bonds with colleagues working on computing and information-related history and STS topics in Asia and the Pacific. To that end, if you have contacts there who have not been active in SIGCIS or SHOT, please do encourage them to join the SIGCIS list and to reach out to me if they want to join or help organize a session. 2. If you are in North America or Europe, try not to be too put off by the expense of the trip - particularly if you are in the early stages of your career. SHOT and SIGCIS have been raising funds for this conference for some time, and the generosity of our communities has been nothing short of inspiring. Travel support will be available! In summary: SHOT and SIGCIS 2015 were fantastic; it’s now up to us to make SHOT and SIGCIS 2016 even better. Please get in touch with me (or the list) if you have questions, suggestions, etc. about making the most of our opportunities at the Singapore meeting! Cheers, Andy Russell SIGCIS Chair

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Marvin Minsky quotation
by Mary Murrell 21 Mar '16

21 Mar '16

I was hoping that the list might help me with the source of a quotation. Marvin Minsky is often quoted as having said the following: "Can you imagine that they used to have libraries where the books didn't talk to each other?" I have not been able to find any actual source for this. Citations, if they exist, are circular, citing back to a source that itself provides not citation. Does anybody know of a published source for this quotation? Thanks, Mary -- Mary Murrell marymurrell(a)fastmail.fm

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New timeline on the History of Computer Storage
by Dag Spicer 30 Nov '15

30 Nov '15

Hello Friends, I am delighted to announce that CHM is launching today its new online exhibit on the history of computer storage, “THe Storage Engine.” http://www.computerhistory.org/storageengine/ The exibit was created by CHM curator David Laws and a panel of historians and storage industry experts and offers rich, detailed descriptions of storage technologies ranging from Tally Stocks (as noted by Pliny the Elder!) to the present day. We hope you will find The Storage Engine useful for both research and teaching and welcome your comments! Best wishes and Happy Thanskgiving! Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055

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Tally sticks!
by Dag Spicer 25 Nov '15

25 Nov '15

Sorry, my email should have said “Tally sticks” not “Tally stocks.” Best, Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055

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possible home for papers?
by christina dunbar-hester 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Hi list, I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions about a possible (history of computing?) archival home for the papers of Estil Hoversten, who contributed to satellite communications and Internet protocol research (PhD in EE from Iowa State, then faculty at MIT and later in industry at Hughes). Please email me if you have any thoughts or leads. Thank you! -christina ** Christina Dunbar-Hester Author of *Low Power to the People* <http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/low-power-people>, MIT Press

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New CBI Newsletter (Fall 2015, Vol. 37:2)
by Charles Babbage Institute 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

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The Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize (formerly the IEEE Life Members' Prize in Electrical History)
by HOCHHEISER, SHELDON H 18 Nov '15

18 Nov '15

The Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize The Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize is supported by the IEEE Life Members' Fund and administered by the Society for the History of Technology. The prize is awarded annually to the best paper in the history of electrotechnology-power, electronics, telecommunications, and computer science-published during the preceding year (pictured is 2011 winner Jon R. Lindsay, at right, with then-SHOT president Ron Kline at left). Any article published in a learned periodical is eligible if it treats the art or engineering aspects of electrotechnology and its practitioners. The article must be written in English, although the journal or periodical in which it appears may be a foreign language publication. The prize consists of a cash award of $1,000 and a certificate. In addition, IEEE will provide a travel subsidy ($750 domestic, $1,000 international) to allow the winner to attend SHOT's annual meeting, and SHOT will waive the basic registration and awards-banquet fees for the winner. To nominate an article, please send a copy of the paper to each member of the prize committee. The deadline for 2016 nominations is December 15, 2015. For more information, please contact the committee chair or David Lucsko, SHOT Secretary, shotsec(a)auburn.edu<mailto:shotsec@auburn.edu>. 2016 Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize Committee Hyungsub Choi (2014-2016) Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu Seoul 151-744 Korea hchoi1(a)snu.ac.kr<mailto:hchoi1@snu.ac.kr> Sheldon Hochheiser, Chair (2015-2017) AT&T Archives and History Center 5 Reinman Road Warren, New Jersey 07059 sheldon.hochheiser(a)att.com<mailto:sheldon.hochheiser@att.com> Matthew Eisler (2016-2018) Department of Integrated Science and Technology James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA 22807 eislermn(a)jmu.edu<mailto:eislermn@jmu.edu> Sheldon Hochheiser, Ph.D. Corporate Historian, AT&T AT&T Archives and History Center 5 Reinman Road Warren NJ 07059 P: 908-546-5247 sheldon.hochheiser(a)att.com<mailto:sheldon.hochheiser@att.com>

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Fwd: Request for J. C. R. Licklider bio for the American National Biography
by Janet Abbate 16 Nov '15

16 Nov '15

Colleagues, I am forwarding this for an editor of the ACLS American National Biography. This might be a good opportunity for a grad student (they are open to this). There is a token honorarium, but it makes most sense for someone who already has enough knowledge about Licklider to write this without a lot of additional research. I suspect that applies to a number of people on this listserv. I have no personal stake in this other than wanting to see good-quality history in reference works. Please respond directly to Rob Heinrich at the email address below. Janet Begin forwarded message: > From: Rob Heinrich <rheinrich(a)ACLS.org> > Date: October 30, 2015 10:19:45 AM EDT > To: "abbate(a)vt.edu" <abbate(a)vt.edu> > Subject: J. C. R. Licklider and the American National Biography > > Dear Professor Abbate, > > I am writing to you in my capacity as the assistant editor of the American National Biography, where I work with general editor Susan Ware. We’re looking to include significant scientists who were missed in previous editions and updates. To this end, we would like to commission an essay on J. C. R. Licklider, and I’m writing to see if I can tempt you to do it. I’d love to tap your expertise on the history of the internet for the ANB. > > Here are a few details to consider. The entry would run about 1,000 words, for which we can pay you an honorarium of $150. There is some flexibility on deadlines. Ideally we would like to have the essay in hand six months from now (April 2016), but if having more time made a difference to your taking it on, we can certainly work out an alternative deadline. My main priority is getting Licklider well-placed, which in your hands he certainly would be. > > You will probably know right away whether this offer is attractive and/or feasible (often two different things, I realize). I hope the answer is positive. But if you don't feel that you can take this on, I would very much appreciate any suggestions or leads of other scholars or advanced graduate students who might be interested in the assignment. And of course I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. I look forward to hearing back from you. > > Many thanks, > Rob > > Rob Heinrich, PhD > Assistant Editor, American National Biography > American Council of Learned Societies/Oxford University Press > anb.org Dr. Janet Abbate Associate Professor, Science & Technology in Society Co-director, National Capital Region STS program Virginia Tech www.sts.vt.edu/ncr www.linkedin.com/groups/STS-Virginia-Tech-4565055 www.facebook.com/VirginiaTechSTS

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open panels at SHOT
by Christopher Leslie 14 Nov '15

14 Nov '15

Dear Colleagues, The next SHOT conference will be held 22-26 June 2016 in Singapore. This is an earlier date than is typical. As usual, SIGCIS will have a themed workshop after the conference proper, but we also like to bring our work on computers, information and society to the main SHOT program. With this in mind, the SIGCIS executive committee notes that any conference-goer may organize an “Open Session.” I am writing to you today because we thought it would be a good idea to forward this information to the membership and encourage any effort to participate in regular panels as well as the SIGCIS workshop. As noted on SHOT’s website, anyone interested in organizing a panel should notify the Secretary’s office by email (shotsec(a)auburn.edu) before December 1. The email should include the session title, a 500-word description, and a contact email. This information will then be publicized on the SHOT website, and the organizer could/should seek other panelists (using this email list, H-NET, etc.). The ultimate composition of the panel will be up to the organizer. Organizers have until Dec. 15 to submit their finished panel as a traditional session for consideration by the program committee. The criteria for inclusion in the SHOT program are “quality and adherence to SHOT standards of gender, geographic, and institutional diversity.” The guidelines for a traditional panel require a short proposal and brief CVs from each participant. More information is available on the SHOT website ( http://www.historyoftechnology.org/call_for_papers/) The CFP for the SIGCIS workshop will be coming in due course. Sincerely, Chris Leslie -- Christopher S. Leslie, Ph.D. Co-Director and Lecturer, Science and Technology Studies Faculty Fellow in Residence for Othmer Hall and Clark Street Vice Chair, IFIP History of Computing Working Group 9.7 NYU Tandon School of Engineering 5 MetroTech Center, LC 131 Brooklyn, NY 11201 (646) 997-3130

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Pierre Mounier is OK
by James Cortada 14 Nov '15

14 Nov '15

Professor Mounier in Paris and his wife are OK. They live away enough from where the sad events took place to be fine. He e-mailed me the good new late last night. -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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